Gallery • 9 Photos

Photo M. Hall

Friday night marked the return of football under the lights for high schools all around the country, including the Robinson Knights. The Knights met a formidable opponent in the Sickles Gryphons, who made it to the regional finals last season.

It was all Sickles from the start as they scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to give themselves an early 21-0 lead. That 21-0 lead built to a 33-7 lead by halftime before holding up to be the eventual final score.

The first Sickles touchdown came with 10:08 left in the first quarter, when quarterback Isaac Holder scampered for a 47-yard touchdown. Holder, who scored four total touchdowns against Robinson last year, put up another strong performance this season. Following the first drive, the next two touchdowns were scored by Ray-Ray McCloud III on runs of sixty-four and fifty-one yards. McCloud, who committed to Clemson in July, finished the night with 177 yards and two touchdowns on twenty-one carries.

The Gryphons added to their lead early in the second quarter with a two-yard touchdown run by Holder before the missed extra point. They then pushed the lead to 33-0 with 2:20 left in the half, this time scoring on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Holder to Anthony Quintana. Holder completed just fifty percent of his passes on the night, but rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns to add to his passing touchdown.

The Robinson offense never found the right balance between the passing game and run game on the night, only finding the end zone once. With thirty seconds left in the first half,  facing a fourth and four inside the ten-yard line, junior Malik Tyson found senior Jahrvis Davenport for a nine-yard touchdown pass. Tyson finished the night with 206 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

When asked about what he thought went well in his first high school start, Tyson said, “What went well was our passing game. Our o-line did a great job of blocking, allowing me to get the ball out of my hands and give it to the playmakers.” One of those playmakers was Maryland-commit Jahrvis Davenport, who caught four passes for sixty-one yards and a touchdown on the night. Iyan Mitchel added eight catches for eighty-four receiving yards.

Following the tough 33-7 loss, the Knights must shift their focus to the next task at hand, the Plant Panthers. The annual rivalry game is at Plant next Friday, with kickoff at 7:30.